Golf Babes

Sixteen-year-old Amari Avery is an amateur, but she's now a winner in a pro golf tournament. Avery claimed a trophy on the Cactus Tour, winning the March 2-4 tournament on the Champions Course at Morongo Golf Club in Beaumont, Calif. Call it a home win for Amari, who is from nearby Riverside, Calif. Avery started the final round one stroke behind the leader. But she used her length — Amari was averaging 270 yards by the time she was 15 — to eagle the fourth hole and take the lead. She wound up shooting 33 on the front nine and finishing with a 69. That gave her a three-round total of 6-under 210, and a two-stroke win over runner-up Kathleen Scavo. Although still only 16, Amari has been on the golf radar for years already. She was one of the cast members of the 2013 documentary The Short Game that followed a group of 7- and 8-year-old golfers. (It also included Alexa Pano, with whom Avery partnered in the 2019 U.S. Women's Four-Ball.) In 2018, Avery was runner-up at the…

Julia Engstrom is in her third season as a member of the Ladies European Tour ... and she's still only 18 years old. Now, she has her first LET win. After victory in the Women's New South Wales Open in Australia, Engstrom said on Instagram: "A day I will remember for the rest of my life! #victorynr1" Engstrom, from Sweden, was five strokes off the lead as the final round began. But she kept working her way up the leaderboard and eventually finished the tournament with a birdie. That got her in the clubhouse with a 68 and a total of 14-under 274. And that score held up.Sweden’s @juliaengstrom1 hit the perfect 5-iron setting up this birdie putt on 18 to become the 2020 #WomensNSWOpen champion.

Let the celebrations begin! 🥳 🎉 🎊 pic.twitter.com/t1guf7CAKL— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) March 1, 2020 Engstrom first made international golf news in 2016, when, at the age of 15, she became the youngest-ever winner of the British Ladies Amateur Championship. She dec…

Anna Zanusso is an Italian golfer who is a freshman on the Denver University women's golf team. She is also now the co-holder of the NCAA's all-time women's golf record for lowest 18-hole score: 61. Zanusso shot 61 in her second 18 of a 36-hole day during the NCAA Westbrook Invitational, a tournament hosted by the University of Wisconsin but played at Westbrook Village in Peoria, Arizona. Zanusso's record-tying score happened on the first day of the two-day tournament. They played two rounds on Day 1, with the 18-hole finale on Feb. 24. According to Golfweek, Zanusso hit all 18 greens in regulation and needed only 25 putts. She made 11 birdies. Zanusso's current ranking in the World Amateur Golf Ranking is No. 73. Her career-best ranking as of this writing is 49th. In the last two years, Anna has won five WAGR ranking tournaments, including her first college win late in 2019 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. Other big victories for the Italian teen incl…

Australian golfer Stephanie Kyriacou is a winner on a pro tour, and she hasn't even turned pro yet. Wins by amateurs on pro tours are rare, but Stephanie pulled off the feat today — and she did it with an 8-stroke victory. The tournament was the Ladies European Tour's 2020 season-opener in Australia, the Australian Ladies Classic Bonville. Kyriacou carded scores of 69, 63 and 69, then closed with a 65 to finish at 22-under 266. That was eight strokes better than the runner-up. (That runner-up, Korean golfer Ayean Cho, is ranked No. 35 in the Rolex Rankings.) Did we mention she's still an amateur? We did? That's OK, it bears repeating. Who is Stephanie Kyriacou? Right now she is the 90th-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. But she's about to make a leap up the rankings. Prior to her LET victory, 89th was her highest WAGR ranking to date. Kyriacou made the cut in a previous pro tournament this year, the LPGA co-sanctioned ISPS Handa Vic Open, and f…

Muni He is the 2019 LPGA Q-Series champion and now has full LPGA Tour status for 2020. He won the 8-round tournament by four strokes over LPGA winner Hee Young Park, and by six over third-place Yealimi Noh. He carded eight scores under par in the tournament, with a best for the eight rounds of 65. At one point, He had a streak of 51 holes of par or better. He is 20 years old and is a native of China. She played college golf for one season at the University of Southern California, then turned pro for the 2018 season. She made 21 starts on the Symetra Tour that year and earned her first pro victory at the Prasco Charity Championship. He played LPGA Q-Series in 2019 and finished high enough to earn LPGA status for 2019. She made 19 starts on the LPGA in 2019, with a best finish of 27th. At the time the 2019 Q-Series began, He was ranked 339th in the world rankings. Now, after winning, she has another chance to start making her mark on the LPGA Tour. (Photos via @lilymhe/Instagra…

Nelly Korda has been around long enough now that it's surprising she's still only 21 years old. She's accomplished quite a bit since joining the LPGA Tour in 2017. She's won a couple LPGA tournaments. She's made the Solheim Cup team. But Nelly hadn't won in Europe until today. On Sunday in France, Korda scored a runaway win the Ladies European Tour's Lacoste Ladies Open de France. With rounds of 68, 64, 70 and 67, Korda finished at 15-under 269. That was eight strokes better than the runner-up. Nelly's first LPGA win happened in 2018, and she added LPGA win No. 2 early in 2019 in Australia. When Nelly joined sister Jessica as an LPGA winner, they became just the third set of sisters in LPGA history to both post victories. And when Nelly and Jessica both made Team USA's 2019 Solheim Cup team, it was just the second time that happened. They partnered one another to two match wins, becoming the first sisters ever to partner in a Solheim Cup match…